Imported Versus Domestic

While almost all the beef and pork sold in American markets is raised domestically, you can purchase imported as well as domestic lamb. Domestic lamb is distinguished by its larger size and milder flavor, while lamb imported from Australia or New Zealand features a far gamier taste. (We tend to prefer domestic lamb in our recipes.) The reason for this difference in taste boils down to diet and the chemistry of lamb fat. Imported lamb is pasture-fed on mixed grasses, while lamb raised in the United States begins on a diet of grass but finishes with grain. The switch to grain has a direct impact on the composition of the animal’s fat, reducing the concentration of the medium-length branched fatty-acid chains that give lamb its characteristic “lamby” flavor—and ultimately leading to sweeter-tasting meat.